Assistant United States Attorney

The United States Attorney's office for the Western District of Louisiana serves 42 of the state's 64 parishes. It is bordered by Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, the Mississippi River to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Geographically, the district encompasses two-thirds of the State of Louisiana. The main office is located in Shreveport, Louisiana, with a staffed, second office of equal size in Lafayette. There are also unstaffed, satellite offices in Alexandria, Monroe, and Lake Charles.

The United States Attorney's Office is responsible for federal criminal prosecutions and civil cases involving the United States Government. Our mission is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States, provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, and to administer and enforce the Nation's laws to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

Job Description:

The United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Louisiana, is seeking one Assistant U.S. Attorney for its Civil Division in Shreveport. The Civil Division attorneys represent the United States in civil cases across a broad variety of practice areas. They handle all aspects of civil litigation where the United States is a defendant as well as affirmative cases in which the United States seeks to recover damages or civil penalties. The Civil Division also includes the Finanacial Litigation Unit which seeks to recover money owed to the United States.

As needed, additional positions may be filled from this announcement.

Qualifications:

Required qualifications: Applicant must possess a J.D. degree from an accredited law school, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) in good standing and have at least one year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.

Preferred qualifications: Although not required, experience in personal injury litigation or commerical litigation is preferred. Ideal applicants should demonstrate superior communication and courtroom skills, exhibit exceptional research and writing ability, perform thorough legal and factual analysis, demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, and exercise good judgment. Applicants should have a strong work ethic and demonstrated capacity to function, with minimum guidance, in a highly demanding environment while balancing a heavy case load.

Salary:

Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The recruitment range of pay with locality is $60,209.00 to $141,275.00.

Travel:

Occasional travel both within and outside the Western District of Louisiana will be required.

Application Process:

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, unofficial law school transcripts and any other required supporting documentation to the mail or email address below. Please include the vacancy announcement number 18-WDLA-AUSA-001 on your cover letter and resume. The closing date of this announcement has been extended from January 9, 2018, to February 15, 2018. Previous applicants do not need to reapply. All applications must be received at this office no later than 11:59 p.m. (CST), February 15, 2018, in order to be considered.

Please send your resume to:

Attn: HR Office

Alexander C. Van Hook

United States Attorney

300 Fannin Street, Suite 3201

Shreveport LA 71101

or

USALAW.HRO@usdoj.gov (Please use .pdf format for emailed documents).

No telephone calls please. Position will be open until February 15, 2018.

Application Deadline:

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Relocation Expenses:

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Number of Positions:

One (1)

Updated January 31, 2018

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Department Policies

Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any other non-merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice.

Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume@benderconsult.com and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com. Individuals with disabilities may also contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC). See list of DPOCs.

Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates who have lived outside the United States for two or more of the past five years will likely have difficulty being approved for appointments by the Department Security Staff. The two-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement.

Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.